In October, it was announced that the future of the Pantages Theatre was in jeopardy. After more than three years of trying to negotiate a deal with the city of Vancouver, owner Marc Williams gave up and put the property up for sale.

This prompted a flurry of emails and petitions headed in the direction of City Hall.

I also sent a letter to City Hall, and received a response from them accordingly.

The response from City Hall was, in my estimation, very confusing and difficult to understand, but from what I could figure out, the issues were these:

1. The Pantages is asking for $30-40 Million for the restoration, not the $10 Million that was promised them by the city
2. The Pantages needs to seek funding at a Provincial and Federal level, and they have not done that.
3.The City claims that the Pantages has never submitted a formal development application.
4. The City cannot proceed before there is a formal assessment completed, to which they have dedicated $150,000. This will not be complete until the end of March, 2009.

I spoke with a member of the Pantages Theatre Society, and they had this to say about the City’s four points:

1. The Pantages has never asked the City for money. What they are asking for is density transfers. What that means is, the city allows the developer to build buildings that are higher than would normally be allowed.
2. Because the Pantages is such a local landmark, there is little chance of Ottawa being interested in helping to fund its restoration. There is some possibility that the Province will kick in.
3. Pantages submitted a development application on December 3, 2007. That application was rejected by the city on June 2, 2008.
4. Time is a big issue. For every month the Pantages sits, and every month that the development is not starting, it costs the developer more than $30,000. After more than three years of this, he has decided to cut his losses, and try to sell the property to get some of his money back.

There is a ray of hope. While negotiations had broken off, which prompted Williams to put the property up for sale, since the municipal election, it is my understanding that negotiations have resumed. The property, however, is still up for sale.